Low density semifinished product for manufacturing buoyant products

ABSTRACT

Low density semifinished product for manufacturing buoyant products, comprising a plurality of layers of closed-cell expanded material, having a specific gravity lower than that of water, the said layers being flexible and elastic and being joined together by quilting spaced so as to define between them pockets of air, characterised in that the said quilting is preferably distributed in closed patterns.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns a low density semifinished product formanufacturing buoyant products, comprising a plurality of layers ofclosed-cell expanded material, having a specific gravity lower than thatof water, the said layers being flexible and elastic and being joinedtogether by means of consecutive quilting spaced so as to define pocketsof air between them to increase buoyancy.

Such a semifinished product, classified in the category of “non-wovenfabric”, is employed mainly for manufacturing items of clothing, such asjackets, overalls, items of clothing for specific uses, for fishing,sailing, or other activities, particularly for use in marine or aquaticenvironments in general, and for manufacturing objects aiding innatatorial activities, as well as bags, or holders in general for use inproximity to these environments and which require protection against therisk of sinking.

Conventional items of clothing that enable a person to remain afloat aremost uncomfortable and do not allow the degree of agility of movementthat would be preferable when carrying out working activities, orsporting activities, or other types of activities.

Furthermore, when manufacturing buoyant products in general, to obtainholders, covers, bags, or other items, a limitation has been foundconsisting of the fact that it is necessary to adopt specialmanufacturing processes which entail considerable costs. Also, theproducts obtained with these processes turn out to be rigid anddifficult to handle.

Examples of products having buoyant characteristics are available fromthe documents U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,519, FR-A-2.724.569 and, inparticular, from WO-A-9422712, the last one teaching a product based ona plurality of superimposed layers.

Such prior art may be subject to further improvements with a view toeliminating the said drawbacks.

From the foregoing emerges the need to solve the technical problem ofinventing a semifinished product that is suitable for manufacturing, inan extremely simple manner, buoyant products or that assist buoyancy,such as items of clothing, that are soft and easy to handle; in the caseof clothing, these have to offer an adequate degree of buoyancy withoutexcessively limiting freedom of movement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention solves the said technical problem by adopting asemifinished product of the type mentioned in the preamble characterisedin that the quilting is preferably arranged in closed patterns.

This considerably improves the buoyancy in water of objects made withthe semifinished product, in that it creates a series of pockets inwhich air is—so say—trapped, providing a more stable and long-lastingaid to buoyancy.

The closed patterns may also be obtained with cross quilting; in thiscase, the items of clothing manufactured with such a semifinishedproduct have an improved wearability and are more comfortable.

The cross quilting also confers a particular resistance to mechanicalstresses to the semifinished product, especially during processing, inthat it keeps the layers securely joined together.

As a result of this invention it is possible to manufacture buoyantproducts of pleasant appearance, substantially without imposinglimitations on the creative impulse of fashion designers, in that thesemifinished product may substantially be processed like a fabric andmay be inserted in any type of item of clothing, or accessory, withoutcompromising the look and/or the practicality of said item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are illustrated, merely by way ofnon-limitative examples, in the accompanying drawings and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roll of material in superimposedquilted layers, partially unwound, constituting the semifinishedproduct;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of semifinished productpartially inserted in a lining in the form of a pocket;

FIG. 3 is a view as in FIG. 1, but with the semifinished productinserted between a pair of net elements to assist the quilting;

FIG. 4 is section IV—IV, partial and enlarged, of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 to 25 show some examples of products manufactured using thesemifinished product according to the invention, and show in order: FIG.5 a handbag, FIG. 6 a tennis racket cover, FIG. 7 a belt bag, FIG. 8 aglasses case, FIG. 9 an envelope, FIG. 10 a wallet, FIG. 11 a fishingrod case, FIG. 12 a camera bag, FIG. 13 a vanity case, FIG. 14 ashoulder bag, FIG. 15 a bag with handles, FIG. 16 a travel bag, FIG. 17a rucksack, FIG. 18 a sleeveless jacket, for going fishing, FIG. 19 awaistcoat, FIG. 20 a jacket with integrated hood, FIG. 21 a jacket withremovable hood, FIG. 22 a life jacket, FIG. 23 a jacket for learning toswim, FIG. 24 a short single-piece jacket for surfers; FIG. 25 a jacketand trousers combination.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The material for manufacturing buoyant products, in the form ofnon-woven fabric 1, wound onto a roll 2, comprises a plurality of layers3, joined together, preferably by means of quilting, in a longitudinaldirection 4 extending in the direction of the length of each layer 3 andin a traverse direction 5 perpendicular to the previous direction.

Each layer 3 is made of a material with a specific gravity lower thanthat of water, preferably an expanded material with closed compartmentswhich, overall, is soft and very flexible; the thickness of each layeris approximately 1 mm.

Optimum results have been achieved with closed-cell expandedpolyethylene.

The quilting 4, 5 joins two superimposed layers and define in thematerial 1 a plurality of closed areas, for example, squared, in whichair is partially trapped for buoyancy and operating also as structuralreinforcement. Cross-quilting prevents the material for becomingexcessively stiff.

The material 1 may also be provided with a lining, particularly but notexclusively when manufacturing clothes.

FIG. 2 shows how the material may also be inserted, in the directionindicated by arrow F1, through an open side 7 of a lining 6 in the formof a pocket, so as to act as padding for the said lining. This makes themanufacture of elements making up items of clothing and objects ofvarious types and functions particularly simple to manufacture.

In general, the semifinished product may therefore act as padding in themanufacture of any type of object.

As shown in FIG. 3, the set of layers 3 may be sandwiched between a pairof net elements 8, joined to the sheets 3 by means of the same quilting4, 5 that interconnects the sheets 3. The adoption of at least one flatnet element 8 renders the semifinished product easier to work, in thatthe sheets are considerably easier to pull under the heads of the sewingmachines.

Also, the net element prevents one or more of the sheets, that are madeof a very soft material, from being cut by the thread used for thequilting. To this end, the net element 8 has to be very strong, but ofreduced thickness, to prevent the product from becoming excessivelyrigid.

Experimental results have shown that items of clothing made with thesemifinished product 1 are able to meet the most exacting safetyregulations for nautical equipment.

It has also been found that the items of clothing made with this productprovide excellent protection against wind, cold and atmospheric agentsin general, in that they provide a high degree of thermal insulation.The material can therefore be used as padding for jackets, overalls,boots, in particular ski-boots.

In practice the materials, dimensions and details of execution may bedifferent from, but technically equivalent to those described withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

For example, the type of stitching used for the quilting may vary infunction of manufacturing requirements.

What is claimed is:
 1. Low density semifinished product formanufacturing fashion designer items having buoyancy properties,comprising: a plurality of superimposed layers of closed-cell expandedmaterial having a specific gravity lower than that of water, said layersbeing flexible and elastic and having each a thickness of about 1 mm;cross-quiltings distributed over the entire surface of said superimposedlayers according to a selectable pattern, so as to act as a structuralreinforcement, and to impart flexibility to the product; and a pluralityof closed air pockets, formed by said cross-quiltings, so as to providegroups of multiple adjacent buoyancy elements for any piece cut fromsaid product according to a desired cutting pattern.
 2. The semifinishedproduct of claim 1 further comprising a net element, at least externallayers of said plurality of superimposed layers being externallyassociated with a said net element.
 3. The semifinished product of claim2, wherein said expanded material is closed-cell expanded polyethylene.4. The semifinished product of claim 2, wherein said plurality ofsuperimposed layers are in such a number so that an ensemble is obtainedwhich has cutting and assembling qualities being analogous to that of afabric.
 5. The semifinished product of claim 4, further comprising alining, said lining being applicable upon manufacturing a finished item.6. The semifinished product of claim 4 having such a number ofsuperimposed layers so as to constitute a padding element insertable inpadded items with buoyancy properties.
 7. Low density semifinishedassembly for manufacturing items having buoyancy properties, comprising:a plurality of superimposed layers of closed-cell expanded materialhaving a specific gravity lower than that of water, said layers beingflexible and elastic and having each a thickness of approximately 1 mm;cross-quiltings distributed over the entire surface of said superimposedlayers, according to a selectable pattern, so as to constitute astructural reinforcement, and to impart flexibility to the assembly; anda plurality of closed air pockets, confined by said cross-quilting, soas to provide, upon cutting of the assembly according to any desiredcutting pattern, groups of separate and adjacent buoyancy elements.
 8. Amethod for producing a semifinished product for manufacturing fashiondesigner items having buoayncy properties, comprising; providing aplurality of layers of closed-cell expanded material having a specificgravity lower than that of water, said layers being flexible and elasticand having each a thickness of about 1 mm; arranging said plurality oflayers in a superimposed configuration; cross-quilting said superimposedlayers over the entire surface thereof so as to form a selectablepattern acting as a structural reinforcement, while maintainingflexibility of the product; forming a plurality of closed air pocketseach confined within a quilted contour, said closed air pockets havingsuch dimensions and being so distributed so as to provide groups ofadjacent buoyancy elements upon cutting of the product according to anycutting pattern selectable for producing a finished item.
 9. The methodof claim 8, comprising the steps of associating externally, with atleast one external layer of said plurality of superimposed layers, arespective net element, pulling the product with the net element underthe head of a sewing or quilting machine, and cross-quilting at the sametime said net element and said superimposed layers.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, comprising a further step of attaching a lining to said quiltedsuperimposed layers.
 11. The method of claim 9 comprising an additionalstep of cutting said cross-quilted superimposed layers according to acutting pattern for obtaining cut elements, each having buoyancyproperties, said cut elements constituting components of a container.12. The method of claim 8, comprising an additional step of cutting saidcross-quilted superimposed layers, according to a cutting pattern forobtaining cut elements having each buoyancy properties, said cutelements constituting components of clothing items.